Two Italian prosecutors, Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro, have been sentenced to eight months in prison for concealing vital evidence in the high-profile trial involving Shell, Eni, and the controversial OPL 245 oil deal.
According to reports by Italian news outlet, Ansa, the Brescia court handed down the sentence on Tuesday.
The jail term is however suspended, meaning the prosecutors will only serve time if they commit a similar offence in the future.
This latest ruling is a twist in the long-running OPL 245 saga, where Italian prosecutors were unable to prove allegations of fraud in the 2011 sale of the oil block to Shell and Eni by Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, a Nigerian company.
Courts in Italy, the UK, and Nigeria have dismissed all fraud charges related to the case.
The court, chaired by Roberto Spanò, found that De Pasquale and Spadaro, as state attorneys, breached their legal obligations by deliberately withholding documents that could have bolstered the defence’s argument during the trial in Milan. The evidence in question was reportedly key to the defence’s case.
Although the prosecutors argued that they were not required to present the documents, the court ruled that their actions infringed on the rights of the defendants.
In May 2024, De Pasquale was demoted by Italy’s Superior Council of the Judiciary for “lack of impartiality and fairness” in handling the OPL 245 case.
He was also found to have concealed evidence that exonerated former Nigerian Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke, over allegations that he had received a bribe from the OPL 245 deal. The evidence showed the property in question actually belonged to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
In March 2024, Adoke was discharged by an FCT High Court, clearing him of all bribery and corruption charges related to the OPL 245 transaction.
Other parties, including businessman Aliyu Abubakar, Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd’s secretary, Rasky Gbinigie, as well as companies such as Nigeria Agip Exploration, Shell Ultra Deep Nigeria Ltd, and Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company Ltd, were also acquitted.
The court reprimanded the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for wasting four years pursuing the case without providing any substantial evidence of wrongdoing.
